The relationship between demographic transition and poverty in developing countries

The relationship between population growth and economic growth has been an important research subject since times immemorial. Following the theory put forward by Malthus that population growth has a negative impact on economic growth, the debate on the relationship between population and economy gained a new dimension. While some views on the relation between population growth and economic growth argue that population growth has a negative impact on economic growth, others argue that population growth has a positive impact and some others argue that there?s no impact of population changes on economy (neutral). However, the point these approaches have in common is that they have been focused on changes in the size of population only. İn recent years, however, the studies focusing on the changes in the age structure of population came to the fore, and it?s been observing that the changes in age structure of population have important effects on demographic, social and economic structures of countries. Changes in the age structure of the population occur during the period called demographic transition that represents a move from high birth and detah rates toward low birth and death rates. During the demographic transtition, the reduction in the share of child and elderly dependency ratio and the increase in the share of working age population in the overall population creates an opportunity for economic growth provided that necessery education and employment opportunities are supplied. This opportunity, in particular, is of great importance for the developing countries where there is stil widespread poverty. Many developing countries haven?t completed the demographic transition yet and they have the chance of transforming the increase in the working-age population into economic growth and reducing their poverty rate before their populations get older. In this study, the relation between population and economy analyzed in terms of changes in age structure of population and their effects on economic growth and poverty.The aim is to display that as a result of changes in the age structures, provided that necessary policies and regulations are put into practice, both in Turkey and in developing countries, economic growth and poverty reduction can occur. Keywords: Demographic Transition, Dependent Population, Economic Growth and Poverty.